Elli's Story
by Riyu Shimoji
Summary: Elli approaches sixteen and the rest of the girls may be broken up by the same force: romance, and in particular--Jack! HM64
1. Prologue

In the summertime, sensations linger in the hot air that are bound to make vivid memories. Sunlight is cast  
  
through the treetops to make a shady and cool impression, and the wind carries the ocean with it to create the cool  
  
dampness that strikes the back of one's neck. Vivid, bright colors add to the sensations and that is why adults can  
  
remember the playful atmospheres they grew up in and recall some of the best details of their lives.  
  
Several years before now, two young children in Flower Bud Village sat in the garden of the bakery that still  
  
stands today. The sweet aroma of cakes fresh out of the oven wafted in the breeze and hung in the thick summer  
  
heat, teasing their sense of smell. The little girl's grandmother sighed happily, gazing at the little ones through her  
  
spectacles and moving at an unchanging rate in her wooden rocking chair. This was about a decade before she had  
  
donned her white bonnet, and her hair was still gray-white.   
  
The children's favorite game resumed in front of the serene old woman, for in the early years of life there is  
  
no shame of improvising in the presence of adults. In those times, all was innocent and carefree naiveté was a  
  
freedom generally accepted into society.  
  
Little Elli's large eyes were still purest of clear brown and her face a softer porcelain. The minute little girl  
  
came back into the soft, dewy grass of the garden from behind the bushes facing the flower shop across the  
  
cobblestone sidewalk, barefooted. Old, cheap discarded plates from the bakery were in her chubby hands bearing  
  
their sun-dried imitation of chocolate pancakes. One of their unwritten laws of childhood said that the space between  
  
the grandmother's rocking chair and the hedges was the hallway leading into the kitchen, and Elli had come back  
  
from this imaginary place not yet refined.  
  
"Honey, dinner's ready!!" she announced cheerfully to the little boy in her young, natural girlish voice. As  
  
she sat down in the grass carefully with the plates in her hands, a premeditated grace and poise for the future, her  
  
blue dress spread out like the wide petals of a flower, concealing her knees, legs, and feet. Short chestnut brown hair  
  
spilled into her eyes and she brushed her bangs back with her fingers. Long, perfect eyelashes helped to bring out  
  
the pretty little picture she represented.   
  
The little boy's blue cap shielded him from the sunlight. Wearing it backwards was his thing, so his own  
  
chestnut-brown bangs were sticking out the front. Elli liked the willingness in him to play house and stay by her  
  
when other boys her age wouldn't. He had an amazing imagination and therefore a perfect portrayal for hunger in his  
  
face when his wife-- this was Elli's role-- brought out a new dish.  
  
"Is it time already?" he asked. "You're such a good cook, dear."  
  
The grandmother smiled; she must have been only pretending to be paying attention to what she was  
  
knitting. Her happiness was seeing Elli's happiness-- a friend she could always play with and talk to, someone who  
  
shared and understood her interest in someday learning to cook and bake. Even more astounding was the fact that  
  
the child whom this friend was happened to be a little boy. He had been over more frequently now than the florist  
  
Lillia's daughter, Popuri, who was one of Elli's best girl friends. Elli's eyes wouldn't sparkle when they practiced their  
  
feminine duties for the future as they would when she and the little boy improvised grass for herbs and things like  
  
that. Even little Maria, who could read at this age, would help her learn her parents' recipes by heart, but it wouldn't  
  
have been fit to play house with other little girls, for whom would have wanted the father's role? Elli was happier off  
  
even without a third party to play as the child. In every game of house, the child would just be coming someday, left  
  
undefined.  
  
The next fragment Elli could recall of that day was when the little boy's grandfather had come to pick him  
  
up. The little boy did not live in Flower Bud Village and only came to visit for the summer. Elli frowned and didn't  
  
want to see her favorite friend go, but for that summer he was her husband and she wanted to make sure he would  
  
never forget that, and that they could resume when he came back next summer. It was a bitter disappointment that he  
  
couldn't be there to see her learn to bake real cakes and pies with her parents.   
  
The little boy's eyes filled with tears as his grandfather thanked Elli's grandmother for everything that  
  
afternoon. He was at least thankful that they were having a long discussion.   
  
"Don't worry, when you come back next summer I'll have a real pie ready for you," Elli tried to comfort her  
  
sniffling friend, upset to see his red face.   
  
"I don't know if I'm coming back," he said, tears flowing down his face already. Sympathetic Elli wanted to  
  
cry as well, but didn't.  
  
"Well..... When we grow up, we're gonna get married for real, okay?" Her tear-filled eyes widened.   
  
Her friend nodded desperately, blinking back tears and sniffling. "You promise?"  
  
"I promise." She hugged him and could feel his hot tears on her shoulder, not minding in the least. Her eyes  
  
widened when he kissed her cheek discreetly, and fortunately his grandfather didn't see. He picked his grandson up  
  
and reminded him that his father would be coming in the morning, so the boy's face brightened a little. Elli didn't  
  
know anything about her friend's father but she knew that the boy loved him very much. She didn't want to see him  
  
go but she was glad that he would be happy going home to his father. It was actually a comical little smile she last  
  
saw the boy with, a struggle for a small upturn of the lips as his face was red and swollen. There was still a sincerity  
  
behind that face, although it was a sincerity that would be long forgotten. 


	2. Chapter 1

Ten years later, Elli would be nearing sixteen and quite a popular girl in the countryside village, notorious for her skill  
  
at baking cakes. Her parents were now long deceased but their recipes lived on through Elli with the help of her  
  
grandmother and Jeff, her father's apprentice she had known since early childhood. Trademark blue dresses were still  
  
worn, only now she had earned her way up to wearing her mother's white lace apron. The apron was now a talisman  
  
that boosted her spirits and made her feel that her cakes had the magic that sweets seem to have that is known to  
  
cheer up everyone around her.   
  
"Everyone's here!" she burst excitedly one early-spring morning, coming in from the side door of the bakery  
  
leading into the garden, where she had gone to deliver her old grandmother a cup of tea. A group of girls more or  
  
less her age were seated around the sole table, the less-feminine girls with their elbows propped up onto the  
  
checkered tablecloth and the young ladies with their legs crossed in dresses and skirts.  
  
"Whoa!" said Jeff from behind the counter. "Looks like a busy day today, huh?" he asked Elli, coming in  
  
from the back room where he had been checking the inventory. For a moment Elli felt truly sorry for him. Jeff was  
  
now thirty and sweating even on a chilly early-spring morning, his ebony-black bangs curling in the front and  
  
hanging in his dark, beady eyes. Having become master of the bakery after her father's death, he had put on the  
  
usual red bow tie and white shirt (although he looked more like a stressed-out waiter than a cheerful bakery master).  
  
Jeff hadn't gotten into the flow of things even after these years but could handle the responsibility, although her  
  
father made it seem like it was nothing at all to run a bakery. Elli missed those days but it was no good to mull over it  
  
now when business was booming as people, traditions, customs, and places grew older.  
  
"We'll be having five cups of tea, if you don't mind," she requested in the manner of a customer as she took  
  
care of the veryberry pie fresh from the oven, which, as everything else, she had made by herself.  
  
Popuri hadn't changed much, she noticed as she served the pie to her first, going clockwise around the  
  
table. She was still pretty and ladylike with her long, wavy sugar-pink hair, kept neat with that red headband. As Elli  
  
herself had grown into baking cakes, Popuri had grown into becoming an expert at botany as her mother's apprentice  
  
at the flower shop just across from her. Undoubtedly Popuri was the cute and sweet beauty of Flower Bud Village,  
  
but in Elli's opinion the little-girlish benightedness was still evident where she should have been sentient and  
  
mindful. Nonetheless, Popuri was closest by and was there to witness everything Elli had been through, whether Elli  
  
liked it or not. Popuri was her best friend.  
  
Karen was something else, on the contrary. Her own beauty was fresh and edgy. She was not a tomboy but  
  
had her harsh tones and attitudes, both at the right times and wrong times to have such dispositions. Once you got  
  
to know the belle that lived on the vineyard, with her long brown hair that fell to her thighs and her honey-blond hair  
  
in the front, she was spontaneous, crazy and a lot of fun to be with. The pretty green eyes didn't hurt the overall  
  
picture either. Karen would always be Karen, wearing the purple vest and boots for harsh environments, always  
  
enjoying drinking, dancing, and flirting. It was the kind of personality Elli wanted but couldn't get away with.  
  
It was Ann from Green Ranch that was the tomboy. She and Karen were something of a pair. Ann was  
  
rough but at the same time gentle because she was animal-obsessed. Most of her decisions were not only on the  
  
spur of the moment like they were with Karen, but were rooted from feeling and spirit, and not mind. At times it  
  
seemed that all Ann aspired was winning the Local Horse Race that came every spring and fall, but Ann was also a  
  
girl of reason, wanting to carry out her argument to the fullest climax like Karen. Her trademark reddish-blond braid  
  
and overalls spoke for themselves, accenting her free spirit and disregard for petty things like clothes. Which was  
  
obvious because Ann couldn't cook to save her life. It wasn't envy passing between Ann and Elli but fascination at  
  
their differences.  
  
Ann was the lifesaver of Maria, the mayor's daughter and quiet little receptionist at the library. Ann was  
  
quickest to jump to Maria's aid mainly because the brunette had a hard time speaking up for herself. She was  
  
definitely the smartest of the bunch, but extremely shy. The breaks she allowed herself were occasional, and were  
  
spent playing the organ in church, finding different species of bugs up in Moon Mountain, or reading mysteries at  
  
home. Elli was always clung to Popuri, with or without free will, but she had a particular fondness for Maria because  
  
she knew there was some sort of mutual respect and sisterly love that communicated itself simply when they passed  
  
by each other on the streets. It was something that they never spoke of but Maria had her own special charm and  
  
endearment in Elli's heart.  
  
"So, did any of you meet the new guy yet?" inquired Karen, jerking her thumb in the direction of the path  
  
that would lead out of the main part of the village. "I didn't talk to him yet but I caught a glimpse of him on one of my  
  
bad days. Unfortunately he caught me when I walked out on my father yesterday."  
  
"Ooooh," winced Ann. "Well, the mayor pointed out our farm to him and he volunteered to take Cliff's  
  
brother," she referred to the pony they had been keeping on their farm for a long time. "His name is Jack."  
  
"I saw him on his tour of the town," Popuri announced as she scooted over for Elli to be seated adjacent to  
  
her, accepting her slice of pie. "Personally, I think he's cute."  
  
Count on Popuri to comment on boys, thought Elli, although not in a negative way at all. Popuri would be  
  
turning sixteen this month, and sixteen was the ideal marital age for girls in the village. She had every right to check  
  
him out. Elli, on the other hand, remembered Jack too, but he only smiled politely when they were introduced by the  
  
mayor and she offered him to drop by for a bite.  
  
"Isn't he though!!!" Karen practically shouted, startling everyone. "Ooh, thank you!" she said to Elli  
  
gleefully when she was given her slice of pie, out of her love for spring veryberries. She dug in as she continued on  
  
with very particular comments on his height and body structure. Karen was seventeen now and didn't care in the  
  
least about the pickel-barrel the rest of the town regarded her name with (in relation to the fact that she was still  
  
unwed).  
  
"Did you see him, Maria?" Elli asked politely, folding her hands and resting her chin on them, risking  
  
interrupting Karen's dramatic chatter. Maria had taken tiny bites of the pie and long, quiet sips of her tea as she  
  
listened to everyone else.   
  
She pushed her glasses back on the bridge of her nose and stared down at the checkered tablecloth.  
  
"Well," she started with her hands folded in her lap, "I-I, uh, I saw him yesterday when he was walking with Father,  
  
and--uh--yeah, he is cute, b-but.... I--I didn't say anything to him."  
  
"Well, why not?" Ann and Karen blurted at the same time, meaning no harm but saying it almost  
  
obnoxiously. Popuri sighed, knowing those two as the perfect pair to say something like that and hoping Maria  
  
didn't take it the wrong way. Elli still listened calmly and attentively.  
  
"B-because I... I didn't... I didn't think he would be interested, and he would be busy, and..."  
  
"I'm telling you, don't miss out on your chance, girl!!" Karen almost immediately forgot her own opinions on  
  
Jack. "You wouldn't wanna miss out; I surely wouldn't. He might like you!"  
  
"Now, how am I supposed to know that?" Maria pondered, peering over at Karen. "Besides, nobody likes  
  
me-"  
  
"Harris," declared the other four girls firmly.   
  
"Yes, w-well...."  
  
Elli didn't want to start on a subject that embarrassed her so much. "Well, Maria, what makes you think he  
  
wouldn't like you? I mean, sure he's busy, but Karen and Ann have no problem imposing on him; why shouldn't  
  
you?"  
  
"Because I'm not outspoken," she admitted openly. "I'm not good at anything like you are, I'm not cheerful  
  
and fun like Ann, and I'm not beautiful like Karen and Popuri."  
  
"Oh, Maria!!" Popuri said in her own way of thanks in an aww-how-sweet-of-you tone of voice.  
  
"Heh heh, beautiful isn't everything, honey," Karen grunted.  
  
"Well, in a sense of reality, maybe we shouldn't really get our hopes up," Ann suggested reasonably.  
  
"Even if he does stay long, maybe he won't be into marrying as young as we do in this village. He might not like any  
  
of us at all, no matter how unlikely that seems. Let's just promise that we'll stay friends, no matter what happens, and  
  
we won't ever stop meeting in a group like this."  
  
"That's right," added Popuri. "Let no man come in the way of our friendship, not even one that all five of us  
  
compete for at the same time." Which was surprising coming from a romantic, daydreamy girl like her. Beautiful  
  
Popuri was sure to be the girl of Jack's dreams.  
  
"Because friendship was here first," Maria said hopefully. The five of them joined their hands in the center  
  
of the table and folded them, as if an attempt for each of them to hold each other's hand. It was a gesture that could  
  
come from a feminine, ladylike girl or a tough tomboy in total control of herself. Hands were univeral, something  
  
comprehensible in all the hidden languages of personality.  
  
Even as their hands disengaged, Elli couldn't help but privately wonder what the future held for the five of  
  
them romantic-wise. Surely someone like Jack was bound to come and push them into womanhood and attraction to  
  
boys. Their friendship might truly be as special as it seemed and hold out even as long as when they all became  
  
mothers, or maybe marriage and parenthood was a part of reality that would eventually have to be accepted. It was  
  
just a shame that all Elli could do was wonder.... 


	3. Chapter 2

"Elli," a soft gentleman's voice vibrated inside her ears. "Elli... get up, honey."  
Dad? she wondered groggily the next morning. No, it can't be. Her creamy eyelids fluttered open and the new bakery master's beady little eyes looked back at her, and he was smiling softly.  
"JEFF?!?!?!" Elli practically yelled. She knew he was trying to be polite about waking her up but she couldn't help being annoyed. She sprung up and then drew the quilt over her bosom. "Wh-what are you doing, Jeff? I'm in my nightgown!"  
"I'm sorry Elli, it's just that it's 8:55. You overslept." He backed away a few steps from her bed.  
"Where's Grandma? Shouldn't she have woken me up?" Elli's eyes widened and adjusted to the lamplight.  
"She got up early to take her medicine and then went outside at about six. I'm sorry, Elli, I should have knocked," Jeff's face wilted as he realized his absentmindedness, then he walked out of her room.  
How did I oversleep? she asked herself as she pulled the nightgown up over her head and searched for a clean dress from the oak chest at the foot of the bed. Stockings, petticoats, and other things went on in a flash and then the blue dress itself. The mirror in the corner of her room reflected a rather charming young woman. Her reflection made her meditate deeply on her past and present. As a child she had been plump and chubby, and over the years she had become thinner, curvier, and all the more innocent and clean-looking. She admitted to herself that she wasn't glamorous like Popuri-- the look about Elli was feminine and somewhat motherly. Elli was typically a down-to-earth girl whose thoughts were on what really mattered in life, especially the near future, with obstacles like the new boy in town to face.  
As she slipped on her apron and tied the large bow in the back of it, she came out of the back room and unlocked the door to the shop. Jeff looked busier than ever counting cakes and stickers for service cards. The flourescent lights beamed on the polished wood floor, reflecting everything like a mirror, and she could tell that he had cleaned the floor too this morning. It took awhile for Elli to get into the flow of things since she'd overslept two hours and fifty-five minutes. Then she remembered the fresh cakes that had to be made and quickly scuttled into the back room.  
"We really need to get some fresh eggs and milk around here," she complained, looking at so little there was to choose from. Tubes of frosting hung in a rack above her head, strawberries were plentiful, and the floor in the kitchen was practically angel-white from all the baking powder, but there were so little eggs and not much milk left either. It was a disappointment too, because the trader had came back from another town recently with a crate of baking chocolate, so she wanted to try baking chocolate cakes.  
"Elli! We have a customer out here; could you take care of him while I make some tea?" Jeff hollered from behind the counter.  
"Already?? Well, all right." Elli made her way out of the kitchen and into the bright flourescent light, seeing none other than Jack himself. She eyed him strangely, almost as if studying him, and took notice that he seemed to be out of breath from running. Sweat poured down his face from working so hard, and she was thrilled to see such a hungry-looking customer.  
"Howdy. Is everything going good, restoring the farm, I mean?" Elli greeted him casually, leaning against the counter with her hands folded.  
"Yeah, it's great. I'd like to 'come by for a bite', if the offer still stands," Jack grinned, taking off his blue cap as a gesture of politeness. Elli thought him cute and cunning at the same time, and then noticed all that cinder-brown hair under the cap, as only a little bit of it had been sticking out.  
"Well, sure. You look like you've been working hard," she grinned, and held her hand out in the direction of the one table of the bakery. "Here, have a seat, and take a look at the menu."  
"Thanks, I feel special," he said, making Elli wonder if he was being nice or sarcastic. Subconsciously she paid close attention to the way he settled in and folded the napkin around his neck, and he didn't slouch. His dark eyes swept over the menu at a constant rate, almost like the flow of a river. Then with interest he looked up and asked, "How is the veryberry pie?"  
Elli stifled a giggle, thinking how odd it was for someone of the village to ask that. Veryberry pie was veryberry pie and that was that. At first she didn't rightly know how to respond to this bizarre question but she simply folded her hands and replied with, "The veryberry pie here is served with a light, flaky crust and the freshest, ripe springtime veryberries inside, and you can get scoops of ice cream on the side for an extra 10 Gold pieces, and I would also recommend a cup of iced tea, which will be out in just a minute."  
"That sounds delicious," said Jack enthusiastically as if he were in a gourmet restaurant back where he had come from. "I haven't had veryberry pie in a very long time."  
"Really," she declared more than asked, just to make conversation. "Oh, and did you want ice cream, tea...?"  
"Yes, I'd like both, please," he added, searching his pockets for money.  
Jeff came out of the back room with a pitcher of iced tea and a cup, and nearly stumbled on a loose board in the floor. Elli sighed and rolled her eyes in a way so that he couldn't see, and went on to fetch the rest of Jack's order. Maybe this wouldn't be such a boring Sunday, at least they were doing just a little business.  
"So, how are you, Jack?" Jeff asked, pouring him tea.  
"Good, good. Getting used to the routine. I tell you what, it's sure a great repast to have a bakery so close by in between jobs," Jack responded in a lively manner. Elli liked how he was so fun to talk to, and how he so naturally evaded the "hi-how-are-you" and "oh-I'm-fine-thanks" and other such monotonous forms of polite conversation. Flower Bud Village, she admitted to herself, was so boring that such phrases were unavoidable every single day, sometimes even during the few days of amusements. With her hand almost leading the pie spatula astray, she fought back a laugh seeing Jeff's face; she knew that his kind of reply wasn't exactly what Jeff had been expecting.  
"Well, here ya go. Enjoy," Elli said nicely, almost in a sugary-tone when Jeff was gone. "Oh, and your total's 560 G."  
"Sure, hang on......... Uhmm...." Jack scrounged the pockets of his overalls and his finger went straight through a hole. "Oh, crap!!!!! Is there a way I can pay you back? You see, I-- money's tight for me and I--- uh--- I'm so sorry.... You see, there's a hole in my pocket and I think all my extra pocket money's scattered all across the village," he sulked, blushing a bright red.  
"That's okay," she smiled warmly, although she knew it wasn't helping, just making him all the more embarrassed. "I'll pay for you. It'll be okay."  
"I'll pay you back, I swear!" His face was still burning red.  
"It's okay, it's okay. It's no big deal. Things like this never happen in this relaxed village, just calm down." Elli removed a coin purse from the pocket of her blue dress and gathered the amount, laying it on the table for Jeff to collect. "Just don't tell Jeff I did that."  
"I can't thank you enough..." Jack's face was still pink and he scratched the back of his neck.  
"It's no problem. From one friend to another," she said kindly. "Oh, and I've forgotten to tell you my name. Call me Elli, okay?"  
"Elli," he tried it out. "Well, thank you Elli, and I'll be sure to make up for it somehow."  
Elli thrust her tongue into her cheek and tapped it thoughtfully with her index fingertip. "You know.... Hmm.... Do you think you only lost it this morning?"  
Jack was so flustered he hadn't taken a bite of what he'd ordered. "Yes, just on my way here. I didn't make any stops."  
"Stay here, okay?" she asked of him, keeping her thoughtful look. "You can finish eating. I'll be back in a moment to put on my shoes." Leaving him to eat in peace, Elli walked into her bedroom and changed from her good shoes to her outside shoes. Sitting on her bed, she thought that he truly wasn't such a bad character. She'd definitely have to think of him as more than just "the new guy in town". He had personality, just like Karen and Popuri, and everybody else, and more importantly, he was just.... Jack!  
"Going somewhere, Elli?" Jeff's brow furrowed as he heard her footsteps click across the wood floor.  
"I've got a favor to do for someone," she said almost irritably. She wasn't cross with him, but at times Jeff was much too inquisitive for her tastes. Wiping her hands on her apron, she collected Jack's empty plate, handed them to Jeff and beckoned for Jack to come outside with her.  
"Now, let's retrace your steps," she said when they were out in the open. "You took that path, didn't you?" She pointed to the dirt path leading out of the main part of the village. "Let's see..." She began walking slowly in that direction, not waiting for his answer. "Oh! A coin! Come here, Jack." Her new acquaintance followed her all the way out onto that dirt path where they scattered coins all about the place.  
Bending in crouched positions and standing back up again, they rarely had time for saying anything, but when they saw three children out playing in the center, they both stopped and watched.  
The little girl, May, had her brow furrowed as she counted on her fingers and pondered what to do with the gold coin in her hand. "Well," her brunette pigtails moved as she turned to look at the two boys and her lips puckered slightly, "I suppose we could try to divide a cookie from the bakery."  
"Are you sure? What about these?" Stu held out three coins in his flat little palm. The black-haired little boy counted the total. "I think that's enough for one slice of pie, but I'm not quite sure. I don't think we learned enough about counting money in school yet. I can try to read a menu, if you want, but you might have to help me."  
Stu's auburn-haired brother Kent spoke to both of them. "Well, we could always just each get a scoop of ice cream. But... I don't know.... Don't you think we ought to try returning these to someone? Somebody could be missing all this money and wanted to buy a cake for himself."  
Elli tilted her head and observed Jack as he approached the three children, who apparently knew and liked him already. "Here," he said to them, picking out a few gold coins that he had picked up, "Elli and I found these too, and I figured that the person who dropped them wanted you to have them. This should be enough for you to buy a slice of veryberry pie and a scoop of ice cream each. I recommend it too, because Elli's veryberry pie is fantastic!" Elli blushed, folded her hands in her apron, and watched in astonishment as the children cried, "Thank you, Brother!!" in delight and skipped down the path while Jack made his way back to her.  
"Jack, that was so generous!" she praised him. "I've never seen anyone do such a thing."  
"Yeah, well... they're good kids. And thank you so much for the pie... and your help, too. It was nice meeting you, Elli, but I think I'm behind schedule." Jack offered her his hand and she shook it firmly and energetically.  
"You should go. It was nice meeting you too, but don't let me get you behind in your work. Oh, and don't worry about the money. I had fun." She flipped a loose lock of hair out of her face and grinned.  
"Okay, but don't forget-- I promised I would pay you back for that favor!! Bye!!" he went off like he was also a merry child before she could refuse. Elli couldn't help but wonder just what it was he was thinking just then-- from being a cool and casual cucumber to being embarrassed in front of a girl to being a saint and then a child himself. 


	4. Chapter 3

Days went by slowly and trudgingly since then, and in the midst of preparing for the Flower Festival Elli rarely thought of that day with Jack. It was so strange--- villagers, at least the older ones, tended to think of springtime as a period of rebirth, enjoyment, relaxation and beauty. Beauty, of course, was one thing Elli and anyone else could recognize in the flowers and the girls in costume at the festival, but the concept of the Goddess itself was what brought those girls something different in the springtime: toils, stress, anxiety, good as well as bad excitement....  
Cakes weren't really necessary for the festival as people hardly ever brought food for the festival, but as the event would be held the next day, that meant that this day- Spring 22nd- was her best friend Popuri's birthday and she would be having a brief party this afternoon, so Elli would have to bake anyway.  
At eleven o' clock she had shown up early at the Florist's shop, mainly to greet Popuri's mother Lillia and her father Basil, who had come back from his annual stay in a village down south for the fall and winter. Paper flowers and real ones were being lined up to border the room for Popuri's sixteenth birthday celebration, and Elli couldn't help but notice the sunlight striking through the curtains and turning the vivid pastel colors into faded, softer hues. The shop smelled entirely of a sweet natural fragrance and it was overall a very peaceful environment, just as the Bakery was. Popuri had a wonderful life, having grown up here. Her parents were darlings although they tended to cater to her every whim sometimes, and botany itself was a fascinating study to have known for most of one's life. Nothing ever went wrong in a Florist's shop either, not when Popuri had her own parents to help, unlike how Elli just had Jeff. Not that she wasn't happy with Jeff's efforts, of course, but being in the Florist's shop really soothed her and got her to think about things sometimes.  
"Elli!!!" Popuri hugged her friend when she came out of her bedroom. "Oh, you brought cake! Thank you so much; I'm sure it will be delicious, as always. Won't you come into my room? I'm not doing much of anything right now, but it's much more relaxing in here."  
"Happy Birthday," Elli finally announced when she was inside. Popuri settled a chair at her small table for her, right in the center of her flowery and overly-pink bedroom. Rose-scented incense was burning and the entire bedroom smelled like a flower garden itself. Her friend smiled beautifully and seated herself across from her.  
"So how are you, Elli? I mean, you don't stop by as much. You must be working hard with the Bakery. Anything new?" Popuri settled her chin in her hands. One quality Elli loved was that Popuri had a knack for listening most intently when she really did have something interesting to say. It was almost as if Popuri knew that she was happy or when she was upset--- sometimes without even looking at her!  
"Well, okay," Elli burst into a smile and a light girlish giggle. "I can't hide it from you any longer. I tell you Popuri, it's been completely boring in the shop until I had Jack swing by last week."  
"Oh my gosh! So like, what happened?" Popuri smoothened out her red skirt and crossed her ankles under the table, with her slips rustling. "Is he cute or what??"  
"Yeah, of course, very cute. Well, I tell ya, he's very fun to talk to, I mean it. Everybody in this village is like Hi, how are you and Oh, I'm fine, thank you all the time, you know?? But with Jack it's different. He's so cool about it, and at the same time he's telling the truth."  
"I've noticed. At least he doesn't brag about his farm," Popuri sighed.  
"You're absolutely right, but I mean you should have seen it, the way he blushed. Okay, so he orders a slice of veryberry pie, a scoop of ice cream, and a cup of tea, and is nice enough to comment on these things, but when I tell him his total he totally turns red and notices a hole in the pocket of those overalls of his--"  
"Oh my gosh!! So what did you do?"  
"Well, I paid the bill for him. And then we went outside and I helped him find his money that was strewn about all over the place, and then he sees Kent, Stu, and May outside. Apparently they'd found some of his money, but he gives those kids at least half of what we found on the road so they could buy themselves some sweets!"  
"Awwww!!!" Popuri folded her hands. "I wish I could've been there. What a nice thing to do!"  
"Yes, the children seem to know and like him a lot already."  
"I haven't seen Jack much lately, but I did notice him swing by here once when I was outside watering. He looks so cute when he does that thing that guys do-- you know, when they tip their hats or take them off in front of a lady? So he's definitely polite..... OH, ELLI!!!!!!!!" she burst all of a sudden. "I just thought of something. You know how we're supposed to be helping Maria along, right?"  
"Right, and? How is she?"  
"Well, they've met at the library, as far as I know, but he's acquainted with all the rest of us, too. Who's going to get to dance with him at the Flower Festival tomorrow? I mean, I really don't want to start an argument, but let's face it-- we'll all want to!" Popuri's face drooped with guilt. "We don't know him very well yet, and he could like any of us-- or none of us! It's just like Ann said. And even further-- what if Jack has a girlfriend that he left behind in the city where he came from?"  
"You're right. Well, Maria is smart, and she's too shy to think of such a thing, so she'll probably choose to back out altogether. Ann and Karen... well, I know Ann doesn't look for romance easily at all, and Karen simply has other things to worry about. At least that's what I think, but what it all comes down to is, whoever gets asked, gets asked, and it doesn't necessarily mean anything. So for the time being, I think we should just mind our own business and pretend we're not paying attention to anything like that in particular-- even if it makes us all look completely stupid."  
"I see what you mean. Imagine if we all let on that we had interest in him! That's bound to cause some problems for all of us. So, are you running for Goddess?"  
"My name is in the ballot, as always, but I doubt anyone's voted for me. I don't even know why I put my name in the ballot. I just do it to please the Goddess, I guess, and do some good for everyone for a little while.... I've never done it before, but it doesn't matter to me. I just do it for the experience. I know you're running."  
Popuri smiled. "It would make my parents proud."  
Elli figured that was something she wouldn't have to work too hard at, considering that she was Lillia and Basil's only child, but she deserved to be Goddess nonetheless. So did Maria especially, and having Karen as Goddess would cheer her up since the recent feud broke out again between her and her family, and Ann was never Goddess before either.  
The subject of the Spring Goddess this year, surprisingly, didn't arise even once during Popuri's party, which started two hours later. Elli thought maybe the three others had figured out for themselves what she and Popuri were discussing, and she was glad of it. Instead, the five of them had their usual fun gathering that they'd always had since they were children without regarding anything else-- the way they all promised things were going to be always. 


	5. Chapter 4

The back room that served as the entrance to the race track in the village square was dusty and dark, having only been used three times a year other than the Flower Festival in the spring, and Elli was expected to wait there with the other four girls, cast in a long wait for the results of the ballot for the Spring Goddess this year.  
  
"Now remember, it really doesn't matter who gets it," Ann tried to calm everyone's nerves, but to no avail, Maria was still trembling anyway. Being the mayor's daughter, poor little Maria had been forced to enter and she looked like she certainly did not want to get it.  
  
Popuri helped Ann calm their friend down, but for the moment Karen leaned against a pole chatting with Elli about the insignificance of this festival. She'd been excessively crabby this week after another blow-up with her emotional, "useless" mother and her alcoholic father, and the entire time Kai, the vineyard master's apprentice, had been watching and only causing Karen some embarrassment.  
  
"That is why I hope you get it," Elli said calmly. "You alone know that you are beautiful and can dance well, and you don't need your father or your mother to be there to see that. We do already."  
  
"I dunno," Karen said bluntly as her face turned red. "I won't know how to put that thing on."  
  
"The Goddess costume consists of a single plain pink dress with no sleeves," explained Popuri enthusiastically, "and the skirt billows out like a flower and swishes around your ankles in the wind or when you're dancing. Then there's this lei of pink, blue, and white flowers that goes across you like this," she demonstrated like a purse strap, "and another one that is joined at the ends, which sits atop your head like a crown. But there's this one part of it where you tuck it into your hair, so it doesn't fall off. Oh, and you get to wear these pink sandals too."  
  
"Popuri?" Karen eyed her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know way too much about this stuff."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Through the double-doors came the mayor and his wife. The mayor, short and stout with his red top hat and tailcoat with large brass buttons, looked rather comical and shook with glee as he adjusted his spectacles to read the results of the ballot. His wife has just returned from getting the pink dress cleaned professionally and had it draped across both of her arms.  
  
"I hope this is all of them," the Mayor said to himself as he counted up the slips of paper.  
  
"I don't wanna have to sit through this," Maria moaned tensely, almost inaudible, but the other girls could hear her. Popuri took Maria's hand and squeezed it affectionately and Elli took the other.  
  
"The Goddess this year is........................................"  
  
All five of them, even the ones who didn't want to get it, held their breath. Elli felt so bad for doing so because she knew they all privately wanted it (Maria at least wanted it a little bit), but she didn't know who wanted it just to be Goddess or who wanted it for Jack's attention.  
  
"............Elli!!!!!!!!!!" the mayor cried out, as if he were announcing the newly-elected queen of the planet.  
  
"Thanks a whole lot," Elli muttered under her breath as Popuri hugged her and the other three yelled their congratulations.   
  
"Isn't it great??? You're finally Goddess!! You're going to look so pretty, Elli! I knew you would be chosen. Yes, Elli's been perfect for it all along, hasn't she?" the girls shouted and laughed excitedly all at the same time.   
  
"I just don't get it......" her voice trailed off. Holding the beautiful dress in her arms, she felt as if she woke up and realized that being selected as Goddess really was more than she expected it to be.  
  
"Gimme those," Karen snatched the papers out of the mayor's hands before he and his wife left the room. "Elli, you got eleven votes, Popuri got six votes, I got four votes, Maria got four votes, and Ann got six votes. Gee, Elli... you've become so popular without even knowing it!!"  
  
"I have??"  
  
"Who in the world voted for me?" Maria mumbled.  
  
"I did," Popuri stated.  
  
"I voted for you," Maria replied, blushing.  
  
"I voted for Elli," Ann said.  
  
"I voted for Karen," Elli added.  
  
"And I voted for Ann," Karen said, fanning out the papers. "It's funny how it all ends up."  
  
Elli left them discreetly to change into the Goddess costume and sandals. She felt very glamorous for an interesting change, with the pink skirt indeed brushing against her bare legs. She had removed her slips and stockings that she had been so accustomed to, and her feet were also bare inside the shoes. Finally walking out of the race track entrance, she was showered by flower petals her friends had in these stupid little wicker baskets. It all felt so improper to her, as it wasn't her wedding day or anything, and she never had a festival for her, all other festivals were partially set up by her. Reaching the end of the line, she curtsied and stood on the Mayor's right; to the left was the King that had been selected last year, and this time it was the Potion Shop dealer. She didn't mind dancing with him since they were always a great help to each other in exchanging herbs and spices, but did she really want to spend her moment as the beautiful Spring Goddess dancing with someone as un-romantic as the old grandfather to Kent and Stu? Not quite so much.  
  
"Elli!!!!!" she heard a young man's voice holler from somewhere off in the distance, and Jack came running up to her energetically. "So this is you guys' Flower Festival! It's impressive, although I am sorry I came a bit too late."  
  
"Late or not," she said, "I'm glad you came. Spring festivals are really enjoyable times of the year. I wanted you to be here when I got it.... Well, Jack, just between you and me, I feel a little out of place here wearing this. What do you think (and tell me the truth)?"  
  
Jack stroked his chin with his thumb thoughtfully and scrutinized her, making her laugh. "Well, I think it looks nice! I never imagined you looking quite so... so glam in a dress like that. You know, I voted for you. I mean, all five of you are sweet and cute and all, but you're really, really nice and the most giving out of all of them."  
  
Elli giggled. "Thanks, Jack. I'm glad you like it. And I appreciate your voting for me, especially because I didn't expect you to. Oh, um... well, we'll be expected to dance soon. You should find a partner over there," she pointed to the rest of the bunch, "since the Goddess is expected to dance with the King."  
  
The music started and the Potion Shop dealer already swung her around before she could see Jack get up and ask anyone, but in the middle of the twirls and energetic, bouncy little hops she noticed Jack dancing with Maria. She wished, of course, that he would have asked her, but she felt that maybe they didn't know each other well enough yet, and she wanted either Karen or Maria to dance with him in the first place. Karen and Maria deserved some cheering up the most. They both looked like they were having so much fun, Maria and Jack. Elli saw Maria dance and do this kind of thing rarely, and with Jack catching her wrist so naturally for the twirls she didn't seem afraid at all. Maybe she could get Maria and Jack together, after all. Knowing this, she decided that as long as she felt like she did a good thing by not dancing with Jack, it was perfectly alright to spend her most glamorous moment without the perfect-looking dance partner to match. 


	6. Chapter 5

The morning of Spring 24th, of course, meant that she would have to go back to her original routine at the bakery, as always in her casual blue work dress and white apron. It wasn't this fact that particularly annoyed her today, but it seemed that Jeff still hadn't quite figured out that Elli was fifteen already--- in fact, almost sixteen--- and continued to tease her lightheartedly and try to make compliments on how she had gotten to play the Spring Goddess this year.  
  
Elli remembered all the way back to when she was five and her father was helping his apprentice along. Jeff was already twenty years old, and a great family friend and big-brother figure for little Elli. Even as she had grown up before his very eyes, she would remain nothing more than Cute Little Elli, baking cakes before he barely knew it. But Elli had started baking things on her own since she had been about nine, and now six years from then Jeff had barely accepted that she was not a little girl anymore.   
  
Still, Elli had never said "shut up" to Jeff before, nor to anyone for that matter, and it seemed she wouldn't need to as long as she had her grandmother. Her grandmother could see through everything, and Elli could see through to Jeff's annoyance at her dear grandmother. Jeff was already thirty years old, and Grandma had always delighted in treating him like a child. These were the only shortcomings in the "family" when all was not perfectly at peace, and it was often something to be thankful for.  
  
Then she thought of how she had long considered Jeff and Granny her "family". Even Karen, who hated her own, still had more than one immediate relative in the village. When she thought of Maria and Jack just yesterday, it reminded her of how close those girls were to womanhood at last, yet it had all come so soon. Elli started thinking that if she ever got married and had children, then she would have a real family that she always pictured in her mind and missed so dearly. Her favorite image was the idea of raising a child and baking goodies just for her sons or daughters, and raising them to learn how to bake and such things. Suddenly her mind made a Freudian slip and she wondered how Jack felt about having children and raising them. Then she blushed, remembering that it was much too early to be infatuated, and Jack would never become accessible to her for as long as Maria, Popuri, Ann, and Karen were around. Elli was the baker's daughter and that was that.  
  
Hearing the main door creak open and the bells chime, Elli wiped her hands on her apron and asked Jeff to retrieve the fresh cake out of the oven while she tended to the customer. She wasn't fooling herself inside-Spring 24th would be a morning every year in which everyone congratulates the newly-selected Goddess for the year. This morning, though, she didn't quite feel like a goddess in the sloppy apron and some baking powder streaking her hair. She wet her fingers for just a moment and let the water sluice through the baking powder, then turned around to face Jack.  
  
"Good morning, Elli!!" he said cheerfully. "What are you up to today?"  
  
Elli was frozen for a moment, totally taken aback. She had thought maybe it was her fisherman friend Greg, whom had known her father. The two of them were great friends, but Greg was always busy during the day of the Flower Festival. Before she spun around to see Jack's young face, she thought perhaps Greg might be coming by to congratulate her, or bring her a fish.  
  
"Hi Jack," she said breathily. "I've just finished baking a cake. How would you like to try the first piece?"  
  
Before Jack could answer, Jeff came out with the cake from the back room. He took one look at Jack, slammed the cake down on the counter and walked back in there rather huffily.  
  
"Is he okay?" Jack stuck a thumb out in Jeff's direction.   
  
"He's just in a bad mood because he thinks I socialize more than I help out around here. Grandma doesn't think so, though." Elli frowned and pushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "Oh yeah," she added all of a sudden, "did you like the Flower Festival okay?"  
  
"It was fun. I didn't get to see very much of you, though, during the dancing. I danced with Maria."  
  
"Oh? You and Maria are good friends?" Elli asked curiously.  
  
"I suppose so. But I didn't meet her until last week, you see. I met her last of the girls. I don't swing by the library very often, 'cause restoring the farm calls for so much work to do…" Jack shuffled his feet and folded his hands behind his back.  
  
"You should definitely go by the library," she encouraged him with a bright look on her face. "The library is possibly the most peaceful place of all in the village. I mean, among all those books… why, I go by there regularly for cookbooks. When I'm not busy either, of course. Maria is a very nice girl. You should really get to know her, too. She can locate all your favorite books if you like to read." Elli felt sorry doing all this. Although she wasn't lying, she felt like she was totally denying something. Still, half of her felt good inside for putting her friend up on such a high pedestal.  
  
"Maybe I will," Jack said thoughtfully. "Well, I just dropped by to say hi, I suppose. I'll be on my way if you're busy."  
  
"Not really," Elli said quickly. "How about-how about you bring Maria a cake then, if you're going to the library."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea. But she doesn't know me very well. Do you think a cake will cheer her up?" Jack's eyes were sincere and hopeful. Elli liked that quality in him, that willingness to help someone.  
  
"Absolutely. She gets so lonely sometimes, and to make a new friend will give her something else to think about." Elli fetched a slice of the fresh cake, selected a plate, and wrapped them both. "Here. You take it to Maria, and I'll give you another one free of charge."  
  
"Thanks, Elli. You're a real friend." Jack grinned and Elli blushed, then, carrying the cake with care, he waved with one hand and headed out the door to the bakery.  
  
A real friend... Elli recalled him saying. Sure, they could be friends. That would be...great. Awesome. She'd like that… a whole lot. 


	7. Chapter 6

Summer 1st was here before anyone knew it, but naturally Elli was one to notice. The stockings and slips she wore stuck to her legs and it annoyed her tremendously when shuffling back and forth between the oven to the counter to the table. Bugs flew by often and circled the pies she would set out on the windowsill to cool. Jeff was much more of a hinder than a help himself, but Elli knew that he was only trying to benefit the bakery. Still, it would have felt a lot better to her if Jeff wouldn't follow her out to the stream of Moon Mountain pretending to fish.  
  
For that reason she was tentative about going, but it did no good to her to stay inside the bakery all day. Tonight would be the Fireworks Display, and as always she would invite a friend to watch in the garden of the bakery. Elli was never one to get overexcited about festivals and such, but when there was an opportunity to have a break and stay up late for a little entertainment, she'd gladly take advantage of it.  
  
She went into her room and sat on the bed with the blue-and-white checkered quilt spread neatly over it, and retrieved a set of blank cards that had been in her sidetable drawer for who-knows-how-long. There are some girls who believe in the firm, flirtatiousness in going to meet people in person to invite them to events, and there are some girls who believe in the mysteriousness through handwritten notes that was elegant and sophisticated, and that aura of mystery didn't show itself in face-to-face communication. Elli belonged to that second group of girls and carried her favorite journal-writing pen to the table by the window of the bakery. On a spare sheet of paper she had written a list of her closest friends that perhaps might like to watch the fireworks with her, and she had crossed out a number of names scrawled in her loopy, ladylike cursive; Popuri had a "special place" to watch it from, Maria had her duties in society as the Mayor's daughter in the village square, Karen went to the beach for seclusion, and Ann rarely ever left Green Ranch after dark. Jeff was out of the question, not only out of lack of personal interest in him, but also because he was very serious about his line of duty in the bakery, with his own set of morals about when to and when not to quit his desperate efforts.  
  
No, this person had to be someone special this time, someone who respected her kind old grandmother Ellen and appreciated her invitation and the fact that she had gone out of her way of her busy lifestyle to invite oneself. The last on the list where Fisherman Greg and Jack, although obviously Jack would have been the better choice. Jack was still in his youth and only rarely too busy to swing by the bakery to say hi or to help himself to her homemade cakes he loved more than anyone else did.  
  
It wasn't until the bells on the door to the bakery rang and indicated Jack's arrival that she realized that she made a pact with herself to set him up with Maria. Elli and the other girls privately knew Maria's annoyance with the obligations of the daughter to support the Mayor's actions, decisions, and appearances, and so she thought sending Jack to accompany Maria would cheer her up. Crumpling her elegant invitation in her hand and stuffing it into the pocket of her plain blue dress, she got out of the chair immediately and prepared to propose the idea to Jack.  
  
"Hi!!" he said merrily in that light ringing that reverberated in her heart. "How are you today?" Jack looked so innocent when he said so, with the poetic clear eyes of a wandering knight in search of a fortune.   
  
"Jack," Elli started calmly, "do you know tonight is the night of the Fireworks Display?"  
  
"Is it really?" he asked indifferently, eyes adjusting to the fluorescent lighting of the bakery and the shine of the tarnished wood floor. He paused for a moment, taking in the scent of the air fresheners and even fresher pastries.  
  
"Have you heard of it before?" she inquired with hope, her eyes twinkling.   
  
"Yeah," Jack said with his attention still on the display case, "from Harris at the bar last night. He was very interested in Maria's invitation to watch it with her. I think I'm the one who encouraged him, how weird. So, how are you doing?"  
  
Something crumbled inside Elli and then she thought of the invitation for him that she had destroyed. At the same time she was happy that she was clear of any obstacles inside, and scrutinized Jack intently.  
  
"Say, Jack," Elli started without any real shyness," would you be interested in swinging by tonight? To watch the Fireworks Display, I mean? It's real nice watching from the garden, and I can bring snacks."  
  
"Sounds great!" Jack accepted heartily. "I'm working up an appetite for tonight already. Say, how about if I bake you something? You know, to make up for that day… with the money and all…" He stopped short and his ears turned red again. Elli wanted to laugh but decided not to, at his sweetness.  
  
"That's okay," she nudged Jack in the ribs with the gentleness only women have. "I'm the baker in this town; I'm more than happy to do it. You just bring your appetite…. So… so you wanted to have something? I'll get you a menu."  
  
"Wait!" he said sharply when she turned on her heel. "No, no, that's not it, I… I was going to, um…. I brought you something." He removed the burlap rucksack off his back and retrieved a large, whopping blue fish that he had wrapped to sustain the smell. "I saw you fishing last Monday, and I couldn't help watching that you were enjoying it. So, I brought you a fish. I mean, unless you think it was a mean thing to do…." He began to blush again and didn't hand it to her just yet. "I mean, I tried to offer some to Karen when she'd strayed from home looking really hungry, and she got all offended."  
  
"Wow, Jack, that's great!!!" she exclaimed happily, without feigning enthusiasm. "Yeah, I love fishing…. I hardly ever catch any big ones through, but I eat whatever I catch, and…. Thanks so much! Now I don't have to worry about what to make for dinner."  
  
"Well, by all means I'm glad you like it!!" he tucked a hand behind his head casually. "I'll bring you some from time to time, if you want. I, uh…well, I just came to drop it off, and thanks for the invitation. Shall I drop by at about seven?"  
  
"Perfect," Elli grinned and waved sweetly as she saw him out the door. She suppressed a hand to her thumping heart and wondered just why she felt this way all of a sudden. Jack was a funny fellow indeed-surely he didn't have any intentions with her other than friendship.  
  
"That Jack is a fine young man," Ellen praised him and made her granddaughter's heart glow. "Such a strapping gentleman. What kind of napkins shall I set out for tonight?"  
  
At that point, Elli loved her dear grandmother more than anyone else in the entire world. She loved her grandmother's way of not asking badgering, unwanted questions but offering to help when she approved of Elli's personal life. She felt it too early on for her grandmother to have suspicions about her and Jack, but then she felt happy that Ellen should be having such ideas, because it showed she liked Jack just as well.  
  
Carrying the fish to the freezer in the back room, she found that she had a new strength to sit through Jeff's complaint about the few resources they had to work with: Elli had just made a new friend and he was quite a nice one. 


	8. Chapter 7

"Who's there?" Jeff grunted sleepily when a light rapping came to the door leading out into the garden. Elli had just been preparing snacks and drinks when she heard it, and her grandmother gathered up her shawl.  
  
"It's Jack," the young adolescent's voice rang out in a sing-song voice. "I've come to pay a call on Miss Elli, if I may have the pleasure of doing so." Elli didn't have to open the door to know that he was smiling at his joke, and she chuckled.  
  
"For goodness' sake, Jeff, it's only 7:00," she poked fun at him and opened the door herself. Jack grinned widely and had a huge, round white egg, beautifully smooth as porcelain in the palm of his hand. He grabbed Elli's hand and placed the egg in it, then curled her fingers over it, before even saying hello.  
  
"And how is my very best friend in the whole wide world doing this evening?" Jack's boyish smile still hadn't faded; in fact, his face brightened to see Elli's look of shock.  
  
"Jack!!" she exclaimed first. "Is this really for me?"  
  
"Yeah," Jack's face fell, as if worried that she hadn't seen an egg before, or else she was disgusted by them. "A gift. Unless you don't-"  
  
"Wow, thank you!!!" Elli's smile was as youthful as his, and her cheeks were pink. "That's so helpful….It's a joy to have a good source of eggs close by. I tell you what," she turned around and looked for a sheet of paper behind the counter. "I'll give you something. I was going to make this as soon as we had eggs to spare, but….." She left her sentence hanging in midair and found a recipe that she had scrawled out in that pretty, loopy cursive. "Bread pudding. You can make it at home, if you have a private kitchen. You'll like it."  
  
"I'm sure I will," Jack said slyly, folding it delicately and placing it into the pocket of his overalls. "Thanks a bunch."  
  
A breeze of silence made its way in though the door was closed, and Elli stared at the floor having made Jeff take the egg to the refrigerator in the back. She felt peculiar and thrilled to have company like this after the bakery's business hours, and did not quite know how to entertain her favorite guests when there wasn't easy access to the oven for a fresh cake. One thing was for sure-Jack was a whole lot different from Popuri.   
  
The grandmother saw what was going on inside their minds and smiled, then came to the rescue and spoke up, "Well, the fireworks should be starting soon. We'd better get outside before we miss them." Her tone was warm and friendly, and Elli wondered just what would happen to her if she didn't have her dear old granny.  
  
"Sure," Elli said, but couldn't force the words out without blushing. She took her grandmother's arm in the crook of her own and opened the door to the bakery as Ellen wobbled along,  
  
"I'll get the chair for you, ma'am," Jack volunteered with a straight and dutiful face. He lifted the wooden rocker with one hand and carried it out into the hot air of the first summer's eve.  
  
"What a good child! Thank you, Jack." Ellen smiled wistfully and lowered herself into her favorite chair, then began watching the sky.   
  
"Here." Elli carried out three pouches of warm cookies she'd made before his arrival, and handed one to her grandmother and one to her new friend. Jack was sitting down on the fresh, cool grass like a little child, and she joined him. Her blue dress spread out like the petals of a flower and her mother's white apron draped over her knees. The warm sweetness of the freshly-baked sugar cookie melted in her mouth and spread across her tongue, and instead of looking at the purple rain that came down she noticed that Jack's hand, spread out with his palm supporting him, was almost touching hers in the long, springy grass. It was so close to hers that she could feel the heat of it radiating with hers. Elli hadn't meant to attach any particular importance to this, and tore her eyes away from it and onto Jack's expression. His face lit up and broke into an inevitable smile. She couldn't help but think it was so cute, but turned her head so as not to miss it herself.  
  
At that moment it was like Jack and Elli were really having a conversation in front of the grandmother. It was a conversation that didn't need words-it came of its own accord and expressed itself in the joyous bursts of the fireworks, like the lark that burst into song with its high-pitched, melodious singing or a burst of laughter. Elli was too breathlessly thrilled and terrified to figure the meaning of it, but enjoyed it and smiled the way Jack did. After about twenty seconds she looked at Jack's face and saw that he had been staring at her since she formed that smile.  
  
"The one thing about the Fireworks Display," Ellen sighed and broke the silence, making the adolescents sitting on the grass jump suddenly. "The thing about it is," she repeated, "when you're young it's nothing special, but when you're older and older, you realize how special it is to see it, beautiful as ever now, but you never know if you're going to be around to see it next year. I hope you two remember that and treasure it this year."  
  
"Of course," Elli said without looking at Jack, although she couldn't help wondering why her grandmother was already speaking as if Jack was already as close to her as Popuri.  
  
"Why not?" Jack turned around and smiled at the wise old woman. "This is the first Fireworks Display I've ever seen here, and I'm going to remember it for a long time. And let me tell you it's far more beautiful in the countryside than in the city," he rushed his last sentence so as to exonerate himself from giving the impression that he was going to say something romantic. Then he thought of his way out, put on his joking smile, and saved himself. "And why wouldn't it be? I've got the two loveliest young ladies in the world watching it with me."  
  
Elli and her grandmother chuckled out loud and Jack's grin made his ears rise a little. He was so comical and yet you never knew if he was trying to be sweet. As unromantic as she'd tried to make this outing be, Elli couldn't help but think to herself that she'd eventually figure that part of him out.   
  
The last firecracker, red as blood, fury, and passion, faded away quicker than the soft glow of burning cigarette ashes, and Ellen stood up. "Well, I'll go to bed now. Those were sure beautiful, weren't they? You two finish your cookies, I'll be fine."  
  
It wasn't until Elli escorted her grandmother back into the bedroom they shared that she and Jack could really talk. Even though they'd both long anticipated it, the absence of Elli's grandmother only brought more silence and both forgot what they were going to say.  
  
"Oh yes," Elli blushed, then took out two long, narrow cylinders from the pouch of her apron that were the size of elegant candlesticks. "I forgot about these-sparklers. I don't think they're as much fun as what you've seen in the city, but I've managed to get a hold of some of them. I saved them for a long time, and got tired of seeing them so I thought I may as well light them. To bring a little bit of the city to ya." She said this in a casual tone, and didn't realize until several days later that what she said was so symbolic and quite, well… romantic.  
  
"Sure!!! I used to light these babies all the time," Jack said, "but never only one or two. I've never seen them by themselves before, and I always lit them at parties with all my cousins. We used to line them up in rows around our lawn or something." He rubbed his hands together as if waiting to open birthday presents and started lighting his at the same time Elli got hers started up.  
  
"Kind of pathetic, aren't they?" Elli stared at hers gloomily and thought of how big and flashy the actual display in the sky had been.  
  
"No, not really. Look, they're just like two fireflies." Jack had to shake his head for his brown bangs to get out of his eyes. Those clear eyes flitted from the sizzling end of the wand to Elli, who didn't stir or look up although she could feel his eyes on her. For that moment she felt pretty and desirable, worthy of his attention. It was almost as if Jack could sense this feeling of self-appreciation emanating off her aura and he smiled, looking back at his own sparkler with a warm heart.  
  
It was as if all the stars in the sky were swallowed up in the black ocean over their heads, and the sparklers died down. They got up again, and for awhile it was just Elli and Jack standing outside the door to the garden. They smiled at the same time, and Jack thanked her most appreciatively for tonight.  
  
"It was peaceful and relaxing, a kind of fun I haven't known for a long time." Jack lifted the cap on his head politely and set it back down. "You have a nice evening, Elli, and I hope I can see you later this summer if I'm not busy."  
  
"You know where to find me," she said graciously with a nod, and they waved before turning and walking in separate directions. Elli closed the door to the garden behind her and leaned her back against it. She felt as drunken with summer spirit as a blade of grass with its richest color of chlorophyll, and as if she could, too, waft in the sweet-smelling breeze. Then the heat began to stifle her again and she walked into her bedroom, clenching and twisting her mother's apron in both hands until the knuckles turned the palest of white. Yessir, she told herself, this Jack character is a keeper. 


End file.
